Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are both great champions on and off the court. The Swiss and the Serb have written some of the best pages of our sport and both proved to be great human beings also outside the tennis courts with their relentless quest to help the others. However, it is curious to see that with the exception of the Balkans there is a large gap in popularity between the 2. It was at times awkward (and frankly unfair) how biased the fans were during the Wimbledon final between Novak and Roger.
Why Federer is much more popular than Djokovic
During a recent podcast with Tennis Majors, Noah Rubin explained why in his opinion Roger is more popular than Novak
“Over the years, whether it is because of being the fan-favorite or something else, Roger Federer has created this persona.
I think a lot of fans also remember Novak Djokovic and his scandal about faking an injury and other things he started, for which he got a PR team to build him up from those positions. There are some mistakes that Djokovic has made. Federer has as well but at different levels. I think at this point, they are on different pedestals.
I do think that Djokovic has to fight what the media is saying. But Federer has built this from the ground up, he has worked very hard. Federer was a racket-throwing 18-year-old that turned into this perfect persona, that despite making a few mistakes, has upheld those high standards,” Rubin commented.
Roger Federer in 2020
At the moment ranked no.4, Federer played his last match on the 30th of January when he capitulated to Novak Djokovic 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer’s best result of the current season was reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic in 2020
Now ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 29th of February when he overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the final in Dubai to win his 79th career title.
At the moment, this season Djokovic has a 18-0 win-loss record. Novak clinched 2 titles in 2020 at the Australian Open and in Dubai.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic played each other 50 times. The head to head is 27-23 for Djokovic. The last time that they competed against each other, Novak Djokovic won 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 30th of January 2020.
Noah Rubin in 2020
Ranked no.225, the American played his last match on the 6th of March when he was defeated by Steve Johnson 6-3 6-3 in the quarter of the Indian Wells Challenger.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Noah Rubin |
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